Savage Master aren’t the only female fronted act to come out swinging with new music this week. So is Lady Beast, who we haven’t heard from in roughly half a decade! You’re probably wondering, what the hell could they have been doing in that window of time?! Well, in an era where every weekend there’s a fest somewhere in the country (75% truth, 25% hyperbole), frontwoman Deborah Levine decided to throw her hat in the ring with the Metal Immortal Festival in Pittsburgh. Having taken last year off, I’m not sure what the current status of the event is, but in 2025, the status of Levine’s musical brainchild, Lady Beast, is vital as ever!
Like every Lady Beast album before it, The Inner Alchemist doesn’t seek to reinvent the wheel, but keep it spinning, fusing ’80s heavy, power, and speed metal together to create a short and sweet album that, even when veering off the cliff of cliché-dom, manages to be loads of retro headbanging fun. It’s energetic. It’s loud. It’s “metal on metal”, if you will, but it’s also all killer, no filler, which is a trait I respect in this current age of 45, 50, and even 60+ minute listens *yawn*. Say what you will about The Inner Alchemist; one thing you can’t say is that it overstays its welcome by 3-5 tracks, thank Dio.
As if no time passed at all, the opening “Oracle’s Omen” kicks things off like a leather studded fist to the face, setting the tone for what’s bound to be an unabashed old school affair. From there, we’re treated to a potpourri of ’80s metal goodness. “Through the Eyes of War” specializes in the Thundersteel era power-speed we’ve heard emulated time and time again, but executed with an unrelenting ferocity. Other headbangers guaranteed to get the speedster crowd raging in delight include the violent Agent Steel-esque “Crone’s Crossroads” and the closing “Off With Their Heads”, which serves as a fitting closer for such a rambunctious affair.
In between these supersonic outbursts are smatterings of USPM worship and pseudo-epic metal forays. The former can be found on cuts like the mystical “Starborn” (its gentle intro setting the stage nicely) and scorching hot “Feed Your Fire”, which brings the sting thanks to its uplifting lyrics and Thin Lizzy twin guitar mania. As for the latter, look no further than “The Wild Hunt”. The Manilla Road comparisons are unavoidable, especially within the riffs and arrangement of this one. Perhaps Levine and the gang dusted off their copies of Metal (1982) and Crystal Logic (1983) prior to writing this one? Every good metalhead should crank these at least twice a year!
If it’s another five years before we hear from Lady Beast again (although I hope it isn’t), then I’m content with The Inner Alchemist. It’s another fine entry into a fine catalog that, again, has not ascended to some sort of stature of godliness yet, but could potentially do so in the near future. Like I said, let’s hope said “future” arrives before 2030, but if it doesn’t, there’s enough steel to keep this headbanger at bay for another half decade.
7 out of 10
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Satan’s Hallow, Crystal Viper, Iron Maiden
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